Monday, June 26, 2017

Spokane River Centennial trail - a Sibling Ride

Trail Map

I went to Spokane last weekend for a gathering of the Siblings. The two middle siblings both live there, my oldest brother drove up from Portland and I, the youngest, drove from Seattle - about 250 miles. I have, at one point or another, ridden will all three siblings individually as an adult but never with all three at the same time and was looking forward to a first ever group ride. That is going to have to wait for another time, as it turns out my sister has been having some mild dizzy spells and as a trained Physical Therapist she is smart enough to listen to her body and my eldest brother didn't think he was far enough along after knee surgery to go for a ride.

My brother Steve my host for the weekend is a recent transplant from the greater Seattle area. His wife grew up near Spokane and after raising 5 kids in Seattle they parlayed their modest rambler in the red hot Seattle market into a river front home in Spokane. The view above is from their dock on a glorious June evening. Part of the reason for my trip was to see the new house. I am 95% thrilled for them and only about 5% jealous.

believe it or not I am the "little" brother

Fortunately I had not schlepped my bike 5 hours one way for nothing. Not only does my brother commute to work on his bike most days but his house is about 200 yards from the trail at about Mile 16. We got an easy 6.5 mile (10.4 km) ride in on the evening I arrived, after I fixed a brake issue he was having. We went from about mile 16 to just past mile 19 of the trail on the map above, construction prevented us from going much further but that was fine with me.

Forty miles long, the Centennial Trail begins at the Washington/Idaho state line and ends at Lake Spokane in Nine Mile Falls, Washington. Our one-of-a-kind Trail has its metropolitan center section in downtown Spokane in Riverfront Park, and branches out to more rural east and west endpoints. The Trail’s path generally follows the contours of the Spokane River, allowing access for many types of outdoor non-motorized recreational activities.

lazy section of river viewed from the trail

On Saturday morning we went for a longer ride, 18.5 km from mile post 16 to about mile post 10 on the trail, It was a pleasant mild morning before the heat of the day. The trail was being used by cyclists, walkers and joggers but didn't feel as "over loved" and congested as the Seattle trails sometimes do. My impression is that I would have never known I was near a city if we had not had to ride a short ways on roadside bike lanes to get to the path part of the trail, for most part it feels like you are out in the country.

The path, as the name implies. mostly follows the Spokane river and even crosses it a few times, the picture below is the "lock" bridge where engaged couples come leave a lock on the bridge as a symbol of their love.

I would certainly be utilizing this resource for exercise and just getting around if I lived in Spokane, for now, at least for the next 4 years while my daughter goes through high school, I am a happy Seattlite but who knows maybe some day? In Spokane I might actually be able to afford a house, with a detached garage for bike tinkering, which is not happening in the crazy Seattle market.

Its easy to just do the I-90 straight shot from Seattle to Spokane, but since I didn't really have a time table I detoured to Cheney, home of Eastern Washington University on the way there and to Ellensburg, home of Central Washington University on the way back home. That is where I spotted the cool College town bike shop above, ReCycle Shop, in business in Ellensburg since 1971, It's the kind of place I would like to hang out/explore but unfortunately they were closed on Sunday. I guess that's an excuse for another visit.